Foods Final Exam

Slurry

* A thickener made by combing starch and a cool liquid.

Roux

* A thickener made by cooking equal parts of flour and fat. Wheat flour is usually used. Hot liquid is gradually added to the cooked flour and butter, and this combination is cooked until it reaches the desired consistency, depending on what kind of sauce is being prepared. 3 types: white, blond, and brown. (brown is most common)

Functions of fat

* Acts as a tenderizer and adds volume, structure, flakiness, flavor, color, and a resistance to staling; it also plays a role in heat transfer.

Au Jus

* Served with its own natural juices; a term usually used in reference to roasts.

Types of leavening agents

* The presence of a leavened causes the flour mixture to rise: Physical- Air and steam Biological- Yeast and bacteria Chemical- Baking powder and baking soda

Reduction

* The process in which a liquid is simmered or boiled until the volume is reduced through evaporation, leaving a thicker, more concentrated, flavorful mass; or the product of this process.

Yeast- Storing/Using

- Cool completely before wrapping and storing in a dry, cool place at room temperature and away from sunlight. - add moisture retainers such as fat or sugar, and/or freezing.

Functions of sugar

- Increases the volume of cakes and cookies by the incorporation of air into the fat during creaming. - Contributes to volume by providing food for the yeast. - Raises the temperature at which gelatinization and coagulation occur, which gives the gluten more time to stretch, thereby further increasing the volume of the baked product and contributing to a finer, more even texture. - Increases moistness and tenderness, and also helps delay staling through the hygroscopic, or water-retaining, nature of sugar, thus improving the shelf life of baked products. - contributes to tenderness by competing with starch for the available water necessary for the hydration of flour proteins and eventual gluten development. - Helps to brown the outer crust of baked products through caramelization and the Maillard reaction.

Rolling

- minimum hand contact - over manipulating the dough by rolling it too much, too hard, or too often will decrease the flakiness, tenderness, and crispiness of the pastry. 1st step: chill (easier to handle) - keep everything cold

Baking/Doneness (cakes and cookies)

- wrinkle at pan edges when near done - insert a toothpick - springs back to the touch

Pan Preparation

-The pans are prepared prior to mixing the batter. The bottom is greased, but the sides generally are not; the ungreased sides provide traction, allowing the rising mixture to reach its full volume. -Dusting the pan's greased surface with cakes flour, makes later removal of the cake from the pan easier. - After dusting, if the pan is turned upside down and tapped to remove excess cake flour, it will prevent the cake from having a mottled bottom. (waxed or parchment paper may also be placed in the bottom before greasing to allow for easier cake removal)

Muffin Method

1. sift the dry ingredients together 2. in a separate bowl, combine the moist ingredients 3. stir the dry and moist ingredients together with only a few strokes, until the dry ingredients are moistened but still lumpy.

Types of grains

2 groups: Whole & Refined. *Wheat, rice, corn, barley, millet, sorghum, oats, and rye.

Baking/doneness

325-375 (10-30 min) Cookies are done when the browning is complete and the centers are cooked.

Baking

425-450 degrees *Blind Bake pies: tend to bubble, lose their shape and brown unevenly. - The size of the pam determines the # of pie slices - glass/pyrex pans are best for pies, help absorb heat. - custard based pies should be placed on the bottom rack - an extra flaky bottom crust can be obtained by placing a cookie on the rack prior to heating the oven. Puff pastries: cookie sheets, specially prepared pans. - should be baked in the center of the oven.

Ingredients (Cakes and Cookies)

A basic flour mixture, eggs, sugar, fat or no fat added.

Bouquet Garni

A bundle of parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and whole black pepper rolled in a leek and tied together with twine.

Pastry

A food made from a mixture of flour, fat and water, which is rolled flat and wrapped round or put over or under other foods and baked

Mirepoix

A mixture of coarsely chopped onions, carrots and celery used to flavor stocks, stews and other foods; generally, a mixture of 50% onions, 25% carrots and 25% celery, by weight, is used.

Gluten

An elastic substance, formed from proteins present in wheat flours, that gives structure and strength to baked goods.

Types of soups

Clear/ Thin: Removing the particles found in a stock results in a clear soup such as a bouillon or consommé. Thin soups have a consistency between a clear liquid soup and a thickened soup. Thickened: Any stock can be thickened with starch or pureed vegetables to yield thick soups such as chowder, gazpacho, minestrone, egg drop, mulligatawny, and borscht. Cream: Adding cream and/or milk plus a thickening ingredient to a puree made from meats, poultry, fish, or vegetables results in a creamed soup, or bisque.

Flour mixtures

Doughs, Soft, Stiff/Firm, Batters, Drop, and Pour.

Eggs-Functions

Enhances the structural integrity of the flour, contributes to leavening, color, flavor, and/or nutrient content. * The emulsifiers, along with the fat content in an egg, delay staling and improve the shelf life of baked products.

Thickened sauce - What it is

Ex: cheese sauce, white sauce, and some gravies. 3 ingredients: liquid, thickening agent,and seasonings and/or flavorings. (thickening agent is usually starch)

Flaking/tenderness

Fat- the size of the particles, its firmness, and how evenly it is spread- is the major contributor to flakiness. To maximize flakiness, keep everything cold- fat, flour, water, countertop, and hands. keeping the fat cold: 1. Less fat is absorbed by the flour 2. more pea-size balls of fat are dispersed and surrounded with flour to become pockets of air during baking. Firmer, plastic, 100% fats such as hydrogenated shortenings and lard produce the flakiest pastries. Butter having the lowest water content makes them the #1 choice for the finest pastries. Tenderness: The ease with which pastry gives way to the tooth. - Fat increases tenderness through the inhibition of gluten development. (Fat coats the flour).

Ingredients

Flour, fat, liquid, and salt (egg is optional). - pastry or all purpose flour can be used. Fat: contributes to tenderness, flakiness, and flavor. Liquid: needed to develop gluten and leaven the pastry with steam.

Basic ingredients

Flour, liquid, salt, added fat, eggs, and sugar.

Curdling

Formation of curds that happen when milk is overheated or an acid food is added to milk products. How to avoid curdling: - Prepare a fat/flour mixture with either the milk or the stock (but cold milk or cream should never be added to hot soup. - Stir some of the hot soup into the cold dairy product to temper it before adding it to the warm ingredients. - Do not allow the soup to come to a boil after adding any dairy product, particularly cheese. - Add acid to milk rather than milk to acid.

Gluten formation

Gluten is formed from the combination of two wheat flour proteins: gliadin and gluten in.

Storing Flour

Keep the flour dry and kept cool to prevent the activation of its natural enzymes (up to a year). Whole grain flours, which contain the germ, need to be refrigerated and will keep up to 3months. Kneaded flour mixtures can be frozen.

Cooking Methods

Moist heat preparation: Easily prepared by boiling or simmering.

Mixing

Plain Pie: Flour and salt are first sifted together and then chilled. Cold fat is cut into the chilled flour and salt mixture using a pastry blender or forks, or by crisscrossing two knives together until the particles of the mixture are reduced to the size of peas. Puff Pastry: 2 separate mixings. 1st: Fat component- fat, flour, salt, and perhaps an acid. These ingredients are mixed together by hand and shaped into a 1/4 inch thick, 12 inch square block. 2nd: dough- flour, salt, water, and often a little fat. usually contains both cake and all purpose flour. The flours are sifted together and chunks of butter are cut into the flour with the fingertips until the mixture forms particles the size of coarse crumbs. form a well in the center, water is poured. refrigerate.

Yeast bread

Product made with yeast; produces CO2

Classification of cakes

Shortened cake: A cake made with fat Unshortened cake: A cake made without fat (angel: whipped egg white, very light, airy texture.) ( sponge/foam: Made with whole eggs, rich yellow color.) Chiffon cake: A cake made by combining the characteristics found in both shortened and unshortened cakes.

Salt- Functions

Small amounts of salt are added to flour mixtures for flavoring, producing a firmer dough, improving the volume, texture, and evenness of cell structure, and to prolong shelf life. *In the production of yeast breads, salt helps control yeast growth.

Mixing Methods (yeast breads)

Straight dough: All ingredients are placed into the bowl at once and mixed. Sponge: Yeast is combined with water and slightly over one third of the flour. The "sponge" is then allowed to rest in a warm place for a half hour to an hour and then other ingredients are added.

Gelatinization

The increase in volume, viscosity, and translucency of starch granules when they are heated in a liquid.

Deglaze

To add liquid to pan drippings and simmer/stir to dissolve and loosen cooked-on particles sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Degrease

To remove fat from the surface of a liquid such as a stock or sauce by skimming, scraping or lifting congealed fat.

Cookies

Types of cookies Dropped: Chocolate chip, meringue, oatmeal-raisin. Bar: brownies / baked in a pan. Molded: made w/ somewhat heavy dough: peanut butter, biscotti's Pressed: Ladyfingers, macaroons, light, airy. Rolled: made from slightly heavier dough than molded cookies, sugar, shortbread, cannoli shells, gingerbread.

Stock (Brown and white)

White stock: The flavored liquid obtained by simmering the bones of beef, veal, chicken, or pork. Brown stock: The stock resulting from browning bones and/or meat prior to simmering them.

Types of wheat flour

Whole wheat, white, bread, durum, all purpose, pastry, cake, gluten, and graham.

Biscuit Method

a mixing method used to make biscuits, scones, and flaky doughs; it involves cutting cold fat into the flour and other dry ingredients before any liquid is added

Types of flour

bread: The higher gluten content of this flour makes it ideal for making yeast breads and hard rolls that require elastic gluten for multiple rising periods. Most bread flour is a long-patent white flour made primarily from hard, winter wheat. all purpose: "Family-type flour" contains less protein that bread flour does. Blending hard and soft wheat flours yields a flour that can be used for all purposes. cake: Soft, extra-short patent wheat flours are used to make cake flour. It is pure white and has a very fine, silky, soft texture. Is treated with chlorine gas to lower the ph, and bleach the plant pigments to improve baking quality. pastry: Derived from soft wheat with short to medium patents.

Mixing methods

conventional cake method, with all-purpose flour. Mix just until moistened.

Fillings

fruit, cream, custard, chiffon, or quiche ingredients. tarts: one crust version of pies - gelatin is sometimes used to glaze fruit pies that are not to be baked. Thickening agents: cornstarch, tapioca, waxy maize.

Composition of grains

husk: The rough outer covering protecting the grain. bran: The hard outer covering just under the husk that protects the grain's soft endosperm. endosperm: The largest portion of the grain, containing all of the grain's starch. germ: The smallest portion of the grain, and the embryo for a future plant.

Stages in yeast bread production

kneading: The dough is handled until it is smooth, has a soft, nonstick surface, and springs back when pressed gently. Rising: As the yeast ferments, the dough doubles in size. Punching down: Most breads need to be punched down after they double in size, and allowed to rise a second time. Shaping: breads can take a wide variety of shapes. Usually the pan is at least half but no more than two-thirds full of dough. Proofing: The dough rises in the pan or sheet one last time. Decorating: Dough may be sprinkled with seeds or brushed with egg white. Many breads are scored (cut across the top) to allow them to rise evenly without tearing the crust. Baking: A standard loaf of bread will bake in about 45 minutes. It is usually heated at 400F for the first 10 to 15 minutes, then baked at 350F for the time remaining. The use of a microwave is not recommended because the crust will not brown. Baking time must be adjusted at high altitude.

Other types of flour

rye: ex: pumpernickel, very compact bread. Contains a high concentration of water-soluble carbs called pentosans, which give the flour a high water-binding capacity. Wheat flours are often added to rye to create a more porous, lighter bread. rice: naturally gluten-free, can be used as a wheat substitute.